by Julia Griffin

“[President Trump] called for new national ID laws with a bizarre assertion: “If you buy a box of cereal—you have a voter ID.”—The Guardian

You wonder how we’re going to fix
The problem with our votes?
Go buy yourself some Weetabix,
Froot-Loops or Quaker Oats,

Granola Treats or Honey Crunch
(They all come Gluten-Free):
With every box of Sunny Munch,
You have a voter ID.

CHORUS
It’s healthy, non-bacterial,
And handy as can be:
You buy that box of cereal,
You have a voter ID.

To be a straight-up certified
Elector in our nation,
You need no patriotic pride
Or birth certification:

Just buy some Chex or Cheerios
(They come in packs of three):
With every box, I’m seri-os,
You have a voter ID.

CHORUS
So just look magisterial,
Hit Wal-Mart, and whoopee!
Though Justice feels diphtherial,
All that is immaterial:
You buy that box of cereal,
You have a voter ID.

by Susan McLean

The writer of this headline
received an education
when, rushing to meet a deadline,
she missed a hyphenation.

by Dan Campion

The voice of HAL (viz., Douglas Rain)
Has gone where all high tech goes.
We will not hear his like again,
Though, in “smart” homes, it echoes.

by John Foster

Thanksgiving Day in Albuquerque,
That city with the spelling quirque.
The menu’s not southwest beef jerque;
Instead, a perque breast of turque.

by Julia Griffin

after Philip Larkin

“‘Pure joy’: refugees fleeing conflict delighted by first snow in Canada”
—The Guardian 12th November 2018

Eritrean refugees
Out of danger, far from home,
Meet strange welcome overseas
Where it’s cold and monochrome.
Bundled up against the freeze,
Running out of doors they find
White above, before, behind:

Everywhere, completely real!
And they cup their hands in glee,
Tasting winter like a meal:
Earth’s clean generosity.
Kids at last, they jump and squeal,
Letting all of YouTube know
How utterly they love the snow.